Friday, May 29, 2009

So why then, are you titling your blog as such and being such a jerk, Miss Wong?

Because I have the INGREDIENTS for a BEL!

And we are here to discuss them.

Apparently some people are confused about what can make a Blue Eyed Leucistic.

BLUE eyed Leucistics are white snakes with blue eyes.

REALLY?

Yeah. Name says it all, although people may not get the word "Leucistic", pronounced by the way "Loo-kiss-tick" which I admit for the past several years I have been pronouncing it wrong.

So, let us continue with what can make a BEL..

Mojaves (as pictured)LessersButtersHet RussosPhantoms

NOW, I want to point out that YES, there are other white snakes out there.

IvoryBlack Eyed LeucisticLesser Pied

to name a few, BUT!!! They do not fall under the category of BLUE eyed Leucistics, so I will only touch on them by acknowledging them.

So, if you so choose, please feel free to make a BEL (BLUE eyed Leucistic) with the above said ingredients in the first list.

I also want to point out that they are not created equal. Super Mojaves (Mojave x Mojave) tend to make a white snake with a smoky grey head and somewhat mottled white body. Super Lessers and Super Butters are more white, and Super Russos (aka The White Diamond) is apparently the whitest of them all.

And yes, you can combine any of those traits to come up with a Blue Eyed Leucistic.

So hopefully in the next season, I will be able to proudly say "YES. I DO HAVE A BLUE EYED LEUCISTIC!"

I don't particularly like the Raiders, so I would just rather call them Axanthics.

And for the record, it is pronounced A-Zan-Thick.

Let us discuss Axanthics.

Like most Recessives, there are lines.

This particular recessive, similar to the Hypo, has some things you need to remember before breeding X Axanthic to Y Axanthic.

THEY ARE NOT COMPATIBLE.

This time, it is easier to remember which is compatible to which.NONE OF THE LINES (as I have been told, again, and have not experienced first hand, but intend to play with) are COMPATIBLE.

Ouch, right?

Yeah!

There are three main lines, with a few others in the straggling wayside, that you will see most often.

JolliffTSKVPI

Which is better?

Well, that is really a matter of opinion.

If you ask Joe Blow over there, this is what he's heard:

VPI is the bestTSK is okayJolliff is butt ugly

Is this true, you ask?

Well, I honestly can't say to that. I work with the TSK line right now, so I can say that I am partial to the TSK line. Do I say that it is the best? Not really. I can't say it with confidence, so I won't. I don't own VPI line or Jolliff line. Why? Cause they are not compatible! Why would I want incompatible Axanthics in my collection? Cause its FUN! And I plan to do it eventually. But for now, I am a TSK Line Axanthic gal.

Now, I have seen VPI line adults, and some of them have not held a candle to my adult Axanthic female.

In all truthfulness, it really depends on the animal and the selective breeding.

I like to think that all of the lines have stunning examples and crappy examples of the morph.

What would be a crappy example?

If you put it next to a normal, and you can barely if at all tell that it is an Axanthic. Unfortunately, it happens. Adult animals loose the grey and slowly turn browner. Even this female in the photos is turning a tad brown. It happens!

But even if that is the case, you should not shy away from Axanthics. They are a GREAT morph to combo with! I'm working on the Axanthic Spider, the Axanthic Killer Bee and so forth. Imagine a bright silver and black Spider snake! SO AWESOME!

So I will continue to work with Axanthics, and play around with them until I am satisfied. Which will be NEVER!

Now most people clump the hypos into the Orange category if they don't know what it really is, and considering the amount of lineage people need to follow, I can understand. BUT! There are some that are not compatible.

The Graziani line is apparently incompatible. I say this only from hearing from others, not from experience.

The rest is assumed to be compatible. Assumed. Yeah.

I don't think anyone is really working that hard at the Hypo lines to be able to definately outline what is compatible with what.

So my suggestion is that if you are working with Hypos, to ask what line you are working with if you should choose to get new blood. Make sure to cover your bases.

Now on to the term Ghost.

The TRUE Ghost is a double recessive morph, which an Axanthic and a Hypo combined. Long term project for sure, and was only just recently hit on by TSK last year (08').I really like it, but I'm not sure if I am that interested in working with it yet (LONG TERM project).

So if someone asks you if you are working with Ghosts, you can technically say either yes or no and be correct. Ghosts CAN refer to the base morph Hypo, and in general most people just feel more comfortable using the term, but in truth, the TRUE Ghost is an Axanthic Hypo.

This is interesting, considering the Axanthic Hypo now has to be labelled the True Ghost. Hey, whatever makes it more clear, I suppose.

I am personally working with the Bell Line and the Orange Line. Boo here is an Orange line Hypo female.

I really like the Hypos, and want to pick up a few more over the next season to round out the combos that can be made.

HoneyBees? Hypo Mojaves? Hypo Black Pastels?

Hypos just make everything that much more beautiful. I love the frosted look.

So there you go. Hypos are great, Ghosts are awesome, True Ghosts blow me away!

These are not Pastels in the sense that they have the Yellow ball python morph involved in its genetics.

Someone wanted to mess with the newbies and get them confused.

I've seen this question a lot on forums and such where it was: "How do I make a Cinnamon Pastel? A Cinnamon morph with a Pastel morph?"

No siree bob.

Pastels are its own base morph.

Cinnamons are its own base morph.

If you combine the two together, you'd get a whole new morph, the Pewter.

Same with the Enchis (pronounced En-Chee), Enchis are its own morph, not related to a Pastel. This is an Enchi. Can you see the difference?

Now there are Pastel combos, and I'd like to reintroduce you to Sunny.

She is a Pastel Yellowbelly aka two morphs combo-ed into one animal!

What a sexy beast.

And here is her not related yet same morph friend, the other Pastel Yellowbelly.

The colors are more vibrant, and the yellows stay very yellow. It is the glory of breeding for color!!

I probably shouldn't have written this educational blog without having another few days to go into it, but I will touch on this stuff again next week. If you have any particular questions or have something you want me to discuss, let me know!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Well, with everything egg wise not getting more exciting yet (no more clutches until the weekend, it looks like), let me introduce you to better photos of SOOPER.

I have to admit, when I took him out of the box, I was not that impressed... But the more I played around with him, looked at his color next to adult pastels, I realized it was all in my head.

My favorite part about him is his connected head stripe. Can you see it?

Since he is in quarantine, I won't take any pictures of him next to any pastels quite yet to show you the difference. In a couple of months, yes.

He was an excellent model (for the most part)

I have a series of shots where he is captured crawling away, but they aren't as pretty as these, so I'll save them for another day.

So you remember Cable the Sable, yes? Well... I love the Super Sable so much I went and got him a girlfriend for next year.

What am I supposed to name her, Dale?

Mabel?

HAH! Maybe I will...

You get back to me on that one, buddy.

So I am set for my Super Sable project, and with everything else that has yet to be worked on with this morph, I am stoked to have a pair. Cable should be a poppa this season too, so it should be a good year for Sables for me.

I am solid for a while. I'm really glad, and I am stoked for the next couple of seasons!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Well, last night, I came home to knowing that I would have pearly whites at the house!

And I took lots of pictures of them, similar to what I've been doing every clutch so far.

And guess what??

They are still in the camera.

DUH, Heather...

So yeah.

My bad.

6 large beautiful eggs from a first time Momma.

Pics to come tonight when I get home. (Sorry) EDIT: HERE THEY ARE!!

And yesterday, I got a shipment in that I've been waiting for. I've wanted one of these for a while, but never got around to it, since I had three Pastel males.

Introducing the Super Pastel.

Honestly, because he is older, he is not as hot as I was expecting out of the box, but maybe after he sheds out, his colors will be more visible.

This is straight out of the box point and shoot, so maybe I'll have to figure out a better way to make him pop in photographs.

He will be helping me out a lot next year for my combos. I can't wait! No more normals hatching out sounds like a good plan to me! (Although I do love normals, but for projects in which you are hoping for combos, normals are not the best sign)

So albeit a bit mollified, I am glad to have a Super Pastel male in my arsenal. I'll be very excited to hatch out my own as well.